The Absolutely True Diary f a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie quotes in his book that living in todays world is a balance between fitting in with a group, and maintaining some amount of individuality. He tells the story of a boy who is divided into two people; Native American, and Caucasian American. It starts out by describing his close encounters with death straight from birth. He had a brain stem disorder that caused many anatomical problems, as well as giving other kids plenty of reasons to bully him growing up. After an unconventional discussion with one of his teachers during freshman year, Junior realized that he was doing him a disservice by staying at the reservation. Moving schools is tough for anyone, but for most kids, you aren't betraying your friends and home town, nor are you judged so critically by the kids at your new school. It seams as though both the Native Spokane Indians and the Whites living around them have a deep seeded intolerance for one another. After punching the biggest at school in the face, Junior earns a little bit of respect and even makes a couple of new friends. Things seem to be looking brighter for him. He is learning a little more than he would if he had stayed on the reservation, he has a sudo-girlfriend, and he has made the varsity basketball team. Of course, that all changes. In quick succession, Junior is forced to deal with two close deaths, and then an even tougher third. He learns some important life lessons and makes some big decisions. The book ends with Junior making up with his old friend, and getting "it" all figured out.

The purpose of this book is to show the differences and importance of acceptance and individuality. It shows the difference between doing what is best for yourself and what is best for the people you love. The book is written is a creative part diary, part conventional way. The story is broken into many different events and in first person like a diary, but each event is told more like a classic novel. Alexie writes with a very straight forward style of writing. I feel like he tried to make it sound more like natural speech or a conversation. The book was written for a slightly younger audience, most likely around the age of fourteen year olds. The main characters are in their freshman year of high school so it is very relatable. The book is a quick read with fairly basic language and an easy to follow storyline. They also added a few silly comics to go along with the section.

Enjoyment	Weight	Well Written	Weight	Holds Attention	Weight	Length	Weight	Difficulty	Weight	Story line	Weight
8	3	9	2	10	2	7	1	7	2	8	2
	Points		Points		Points		Points		Points		Points
	24		18		20		7		14		16
	Total Points 99/120	Score 83%	Official Review B		B

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

 The book starts off after Chris McCandless graduates from college. He comes from a wealthy family. His mother and father were always having problems and Chris felt like everyone was trying to fix their problems with money. After graduation, he had finally had enough. Chris took all of his savings and donated it to charity. Whatever money he had with him, he burned. He ditched his car far out in the desert and had his mail held at the post office as to buy him some time before his parents figured out that he had left. Chris just wanted to experience his life to the fullest. He changed his name to Alex Supertramp. On his journey he met up with lots of other people, some living like him, and others living a more traditional life. For a while he worked at a grain elevator to get some money. Later, Chris said that having all the money just took the fun out of his adventures. The ultimate finally for his journey was Alaska. He said after that he might settle down and write a book about his experiences. To prepare for his trip, he was forced to take a job at a Burger King to buy the supplies that he would need. In Alaska, Alex finds an abandoned Volkswagon bus that he sets up camp in. For the first few weeks, he is having the experience that he had wanted. He hunted and gathered for food, along with a bag of rice for when the game was slow. He eventually ran out of food and had a few too many hunting outings and decided that it was time to head back, but there was something that he didn't account for. When he came back to the little stream that he crossed on his way in, all the melting snow had converted it into a rushing river that he was unable to cross. His only option was to wait it out. As Chris got more and desperate for food, he got sloppy with his berry book and made a fatal mistake. There is no absolute proof, but investigators assumed that Chris ate a poisonous berry, which looked very similar to a safe berry. The effect of the poison was that it shut down your body's ability to digest food. So no matter how much Chris ate, he would still starve to death. 

The story starts out at the end. "Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters." Right off the bat they eliminate the surprise. I was actually wondering when I first got the book whether or not he would survive. My question was answered in about 15 seconds. The story is written using lots of different kinds of mediums. Krakauer narrates some of the story, while other parts are told through stories from people Chris met along the way, or through magazine articles, or through the accounts of his family. In addition to all the different methods of telling the story, the timeline jumps around a lot. It keeps going back and forth between his Alaskan adventure and the rest of his travels. The book also briefly mentions some other similar stories as a sort of warning to the reader. Between all these methods of writing, the story can be tricky to follow if you aren't paying attention. The audience for this book, I would say, is your average teenager or adult. There is nothing too technical about his outdoors life because he was kind of a novice himself. Descriptions are usually pretty general. It is really all about the story. There is also a sort of overarching feeling that part of Krakauers reasoning for writing this was to send out a warning. Kind of like, "look at what happens when you just jump into things that you aren't prepared for". Being an outdoorsman himself, I'm sure that he was cringing over some of the stuff Chris tried to pull off. The reason that Jon Krakauer wrote about Chris is because he did a very similar thing. He went off into the wilderness for a few weeks all by himself. He, of course, didn't do anything as ridiculous and obviously lived to tell his own story.

Enjoyment	Weight	Well Written	Weight	Holds Attention	Weight	Length	Weight	Difficulty	Weight	Story line	Weight
10	3	9	2	10	2	8	1	8	2	9	2
	Points		Points		Points		Points		Points		Points
	30		18		20		8		16		18
	Total Points	Score	Official Review
	110/120	92%	A-		A-

Seductive Poison

Why wouldn't you believe him? After all the man was Jesus!
Deborah Layton was in high school when she started getting into trouble. She had troubles with her parents and started doing hard drugs and breaking the law. When she was on break from her boarding school, a friend convinced her to go to the Peoples Temple and listen to the Reverend Jim Jones Speak.
Jim Jones was the reverend of the "People's Temple" in the 1970's. His goal was to appeal to anyone willing to follow him. He was very anti-prejudice, and preached about socialism. He had a very convincing demeanor about him which is what got him so many followers. Deborah went in and was immediately hooked. She states that Jim was like the father that she always wanted. He cared about her when no one else did. Deborah quickly got completely attached to The People's Temple. She dropped out of high school and moved into the dormitories at the temple. As she moved up the rank at the church, she was allowed to travel around the country with Jones, preaching socialism. Somehow even after spending so much time with Jim Jones, Deborah never thought anything seamed fishy.

Jones literally preached to his people that he WAS Jesus. He said that he had reincarnated from Jesus, as many people including Lenin, and was now on a mission to protect. He set incredibly strict rules on his followers. Disciples were not allowed to have relationships, converse with others in private, or have relationships with their family. Members of the temple were under no circumstances allowed to leave. Higher members were forced to sign documents stating that they had either attempted to assassinate the president, or that they had molested a child. This was then used to blackmail people who tried to leave.The reverend did other strange things such as saying that all men, other than himself, were homosexuals, and that having facial hair meant that you wanted to be a woman. Amazingly, no one ever questioned these ridiculous acts. Jones committed many illegal acts, with fraud being the big one, always saying "The ends justify the means".

In the late 1700's, Jones told his followers that he had been using his powers to hold back a nuclear war and that it was no longer preventable. The only place that they could be safe was a small village in Guyana that had been set up by Jones himself and aptly named, Jonestown. He was able to convince almost 1000 people to pick up and move with him. His followers had to be prepared to commit suicide at a moments notice. At one point, Jones even held a mock suicide drill in the middle of the night. Still his followers didn't question him. It all ended when Jones told everyone that the time had come for them to escape this life. Everyone was given a drink laced with cyanide.  Children had to drink first, then adults. Those who refused or tried to escape were shot by armed guards. In total, 909 people perished in Jonestown that day. It is amazing that people could be brainwashed is such an extreme way.


This book really interests me because of how unbelievable it is. It is like reading a fiction book, and I found myself forgetting that it actually happened. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under 16 years old. Aside from the large vocabulary and complicated context, it is a tough topic. It was a pretty grouser event that doesn't make for a fun read. I think the author wrote this book with education in mind. She wants people to be able to think for themselves. During the book she mentions that something didn't feel right but she never thought much of it. Everyone was completely blinded by Jim Jones' power and influence. One thing I really liked about how the book was written is how Layton usually describes Jones in a positive light. Knowing how the book ends in the back of your mind, it makes you disagree with her and really makes you passionate about it. Her style of writing leave you in even more disbelief. It gives you that same gut feeling that you get when you watch a horror movie. "Don't go into the attic... don't do it!

Enjoyment	Weight	Well Written	Weight	Holds Attention	Weight	Length	Weight	Difficulty	Weight	Story line	Weight
10	3	9	2	10	2	9	1	9	2	9	2
	Points		Points		Points		Points		Points		Points
	30		18		20		9		18		18
	Total Points	Score	Official Review
	113/120	94%	A		A